xviii, 422 p. : 24 cm

Camille Saint-Saëns--perhaps the foremost French musical figure of the late nineteenth century and a composer who wrote in nearly every musical genre, from opera and the symphony to film music--is now being rediscovered after a century of modernism overshadowed his earlier importance. In a wide-ranging and trenchant series of essays, articles, and documents, Camille Saint-Saëns and His World deconstructs the multiple realities behind the man and his music. Topics range from intimate glimpses of the private and playful Saint-Saëns, to the composer's interest in astronomy and republican politics, his performances of Mozart and Rameau over eight decades, and his extensive travels around the world. This collection also analyzes the role he played in various musical societies and his complicated relationship with such composers as Liszt, Massenet, Wagner, and Ravel. Featuring the best contemporary scholarship on this crucial, formative period in French music, Camille Saint-Saëns and His World restores the composer to his vital role as innovator and curator of Western music [Publisher description]

"Published in conjunction with The Bard Music Festival"--P. [ii]

Includes bibliographical references and index

Camille Saint-Saëns in (semi-)private / Mitchell Morris -- Saint-Saëns, the playful / Paul Viardot -- Inspired by the skies? Saint-Saëns, amateur astronomer / Léo Houziaux -- Changes on the moon, optical illusions, the stars / Camille Saint-Saëns -- Business and politics, with humor : Saint-Saëns and Auguste Durand / Jann Pasler -- Rivals and friends : Saint-Saëns, Massenet, and Thaïs / Jean-Christophe Branger -- Massenet-Saint-Saëns correspondence / Camille Saint-Saëns ; Jules and Louise Massenet -- Saint-Saëns and Lecocq : an unwavering friendship / Yves Gérard -- Saint-Saëns and the performer's prestige / Dana Gooley -- Le maître and the "Strange woman," Marie Jaëll : two virtuoso-composers in resonance / Florence Launay and Jann Pasler -- Saint-Saëns's improvisations on the organ (1862) / William Peterson -- Providing direction for French music : Saint-Saëns and the Société Nationale / Michael Strasser --

Saint-Saëns as president of the Société des Compositeurs (1887-1891) / Laure Schnapper -- Saint-Saëns at the Société des Concerts du Conservatoire de Paris (1903-1904) / D. Kern Holoman -- Saint-Saëns : the traveling musician / Stéphane Leteuré -- Saint-Saëns in Germany / Michael Stegemann -- Saint-Saëns in England : his Organ symphony / Sabina Teller Ratner -- Analytical and historical programme for his new symphony in C minor and major / Camille Saint-Saëns -- Saint-Saëns, "Algerian by adoption" ; Friendship and music in Indochina / Jann Pasler -- Saint-Saëns in New York / Carolyn Guzski -- Saint-Saëns and Latin America / Carol A. Hess -- What's in a song? Saint-Saëns's Mélodies / Annegret Fauser -- Saint-Saëns and the ancient world : from Africa to Greece / Jann Pasler -- Saint-Saëns, writer / Maire-Gabrielle Soret -- Saint-Saëns and Rameau's keyboard music / Katharine Ellis -- Preface, Rameau's Pièces de Clavecin (Durand, 1895) --

Lyres and citharas of antiquity / Maire-Gabrielle Soret -- Ancient lyres and citharas / Camille Saint-Saëns -- Saint-Saëns and d'Indy in dialogue ; Saint-Saëns's advocacy of music education in elementary school / Jann Pasler -- Report of M. Saint-Saëns / Camille Saint-Saëns -- Saint-Saëns and the future of music / Byron Adams and Jann Pasler -- Musical evolution / Camille Saint-Saëns -- The fox in the henhouse, or Saint-Saëns at the SMI / Michel Duchesneau -- Saint-Saëns, Ravel, and their piano concertos : sounding out a legacy / Michael J. Puri -- Saint-Saëns and silent film, sound film and Saint-Saëns / Martin Marks -- Beyond the conceits of the avant-garde : Saint-Saëns, Romain Rolland, and the musical culture of the nineteenth century / Leon Botstein

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